Hubble Maps Pluto

This view of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto was constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003. Hubble's view isn't sharp enough to see craters or mountains, if they exist on the surface, but Hubble reveals a complex-looking and variegated world with white, dark-orange, and charcoal-black terrain. The overall color is believed to be a result of ultraviolet radiation from the distant Sun breaking up methane that is present on Pluto's surface, leaving behind a dark, molasses-colored, carbon-rich residue.